Enhancement of tumor-TRAIL susceptibility by modulation of autophagy
Wen Hou1, Jie Han, Caisheng Lu
1Department of Pathology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract:
Autophagy has recently been recognized as an important cellular response to stress. However, the prospect of manipulating the autophagic process for the enhancement of cancer therapy remains unresolved. This lack of resolution stems from the current controversy regarding the fundamental function of autophagy in tumor stress response: Does it have a positive or negative impact on tumor survival capability? Our studies were designed to investigate the role of autophagy in the response to TRAIL of tumor cells with various apoptotic defects. Based on our findings, we propose that divergent mechanisms of resistance to TRAIL can be reversed by a common approach of targeting specific components of the autophagic process for inhibition. This concept may have significant implications for the development of new strategies to circumvent TRAIL resistance in tumors.
Related Concept Videos
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
Tumor Immunotherapy
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and pro-apoptotic...


